Sunday, June 29, 2008

To be a better professional

1) The harvest come only in the long haul: Job satisfaction, Do you have that ? If you answer NO then, working towards your long term goal will give you a job satisfaction, you always aspired for. If you have too many choices before you then zero in on one and move towards it. No point in living someone else's dream. We always try and find solution to get out of the situation we are in. I hate coding, IT industry has taken my self, I don't have free time and I am a looser in my personal life all these are an attempt to get out of thing which we don't love. So, what to do, if my goal is not related to the industry am working in ? You got to understand that the work you do now is essentially required to make you a better professional. Irrespective of what work you do, remember you are being molded as a professional.

2) Work Unsupervised - remember you are the system: You should be able to create your own work, structure it and deliver it with minimal supervision or none at all. The ability to work unsupervised and the ability to reach out and ask for help are the critical requirements of a professional. In a managerial language be proactive. You might have heard your manager use it many times :).

3) Think on Big. Act on Small: Remember you have been given a part of job which has been assigned to your boss. Keeping the big picture in mind will help you to get inline with the picture and construct a small deliverable in accordance. The ability to focus on today and moving towards tomorrow is an uncommon quality that is a pre-requisite for a better professional.

4) Things do not work as per plan -- do not get flustered:They do not work as planned, do they ? You wake up in the morning planning to finish the work assigned to you by 6:30 pm and moving to a movie. With enthusiasm you start your work to find you need your peer's help who is not in his seat :) . Then your boss calls you and asks you to finish some adhoc work, which you had not anticipated. While you were busy doing that work your peer would have come and gone telling he will meet you at 6:00 pm.

At 7:00 as you plan to move out of office, your boss interjects to remind that you have not yet finished the work assigned to you yesterday!!!!!. Looks similar to your own experience ?As things fail to happen per plan, there is an inevitable period of confusion and self-doubt. To change rapidly is also a important characteristic of a professional. 5) Be Self-Confident: Every organisation needs them(self confident people) and needs them badly. People who know that irrespective of the outcome, at a personal level they will emerge rich in experience. This is the important trait to be a better proffesional. Just observe, you will find people with this trait excelling in getting more oppurtunities and appreciation from your managers. No matter how good you are you got to display your confidence to excel in a work place and climb up a corporate ladder. This is where many of us flounder, and give way to the people who know how to maintain their equanimity. Remember if you are not depending on your confidence then you are actually depending on someone else's confidence. Is depending on others confidence better ?

Be a better professional, follow the five rules

1) The harvest come only in the long haul2) Work Unsupervised - remember you are the system3) Think on Big. Act on Small.4) Things do not work as per plan -- do not get flustered5) Be Self-Confident

All the best ........... Let me know if this article was worth reading (Comments are welcome).